Martin Witherspoon Gary | |
|---|---|
 | |
| South Carolina Senate | |
| In office 1876–1881 | |
| Preceded by | Lawrence Cain |
| Personal details | |
| Died | April 9, 1881 (aged 50) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Branch/service |  Confederate States Army |
| Rank |  Brigadier general |
| Battles/wars | Civil War |
Martin Witherspoon Gary (March 25, 1831 – April 9, 1881) was an attorney, soldier, and politician from South Carolina. He attained the rank of brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He played a major leadership role in the 1876 Democratic political campaign to elect Wade Hampton III as governor, planning a detailed campaign to disrupt the Republican Party and black voters by violence and intimidation.[1]
Gary was first elected to office as a state representative in 1860. He was elected to the South Carolina State Senate in 1876 from Edgefield, South Carolina, serving two terms. He fell out with Hampton after failing to get appointments to the U.S. Senate in 1877 and 1879, and left politics in 1881 after finishing his second term. He returned to his home in Cokesbury and died in April of that year.
- ^ Ehren K. Foley, "Sites of Violence: Cainhoy Riot," Citations: "Plan of the Campaign of 1876" Archived 2014-11-05 at the Wayback Machine, South Carolina during Reconstruction website, 2010-2012, Papers of Martin Witherspoon Gary, South Caroliniana Library, Columbia, South Carolina, accessed 26 October 2014